painting – Page 7

Artist Spotlight: Alise Eastgate

I am an Oakland based visual artist, focusing in watercolor and acrylic painting. I am also an aspiring digital photographer and ukulele player. I was born in Europe, raised in Louisiana, and shaped by the places I've called home since, including Alabama, Mississippi, New Zealand, California, and the Fiji Islands. I earned my Bachelor degree in Studio Art and Geography from the University of Alabama in 2010. My work is inspired by my activism and my belief that all living beings deserve the right to live, love and be free. I use color and organic shapes to explore these ideas and relationships within overlapping cultures.

Nude Woman Red Background by Chris K. Howard

A nude woman stands in profile against a warm red background. At first it seemed like all the brush strokes were expressive and quickly applied as some of the red background is brushed against the head, arm and legs of the woman. However, the artist mentions that a palette knife is used, as he notes in the hashtags of the post. Using a palette knife on “its edge creates effects like reflections… that add texture and detail.”* You can see this effect where the light is applied to areas along the figures body that makes my eyes move from the figures mouth and neck area to her breast to her gluteal and thigh then I am drawn back to the figures mouth again. The light on the figure’s body is not dramatic I would describe it as more of an impressionistic style perhaps this is the artist way of working out the balance of colors within the entire composition. This type of sgraffito application help to blend the red background with the brown skin of the woman.

The Art of Zaha Hadid

The art of Zaha Hadid. The boundary, the precision and the precise intentionality of calligraphic detail is harmonic.

Teacher by Day. Illustrator by Night. Introduction to the works of Cindy Nzeakor Part Three: Self Portrait

In the September 6th post I introduced you to the art works of Cindy Nzeakor and over the course of a little over a month I’ve briefly explored illustration to help broaden my understanding of the art form and to explore the artists’ references.